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As a result, the tax was applied only to products such as confectionery, ice cream, soft drinks, biscuits, crisps and nuts, which had previously been hit by Purchase Tax.

However, changes in diets and the products on the shelves over the years means food and drink which appear to fall into the category of healthy staples are taxed in the same way as non-essential, often unhealthy, treats.

At the same time foods such as cake, which many assume leads to weight gain, are relatively cheap because they do not carry VAT.

Research found the majority of consumers have no idea which products carry VAT, not least because there are no clear rules

The confusion is significant at a time when doctors and health campaigners are calling for changes to the tax regime to boost healthy eating and tackle obesity and associated illnesses such as type 2 diabetes and some types of cancer.

As well as chocolate cake and Jaffa Cakes – which the manufacturer successfully argued at a tax tribunal are cakes rather than biscuits – VAT-free foods include toffee apples, chocolate chip cookies, millionaire’s shortbread, gingerbread, tortilla chips and cold sandwiches, even if full of fat and salt.

But the tax is added to snacking raisins, often found in children’s lunchboxes, frozen yogurt, protein bars, roasted peanuts, potato crisps, chocolate for diabetics and hot sandwiches.

A study among more than 2,000 consumers found that 85 per cent wrongly believed VAT was charged on chocolate chip cookies, 82 per cent on gingerbread and 80 per cent on toffee apples.

Seventy-nine per cent wrongly believed there was no VAT on snacking raisins. The figure was 77 per cent for protein bars, 71 per cent for frozen yogurt and 63 per cent on fruit smoothies.

After being told the true tax status of the foods, just 6 per cent said they agreed with the taxman’s classifications. The vast majority – 95 per cent – said they were surprised and 82 per cent were confused.

The survey was carried out by the team behind powdered food product Huel as part of their research into the understanding of healthy eating.

Huel founder Julian Hearn said the VAT exemption on healthy food was useful to keep prices down, but the regime is so confusing it has fallen into disrepute.

‘We have an alarming rate of the population with type 2 diabetes,’ he said. ‘We should use the VAT system as a disincentive for unhealthy foods which contribute, such as sugary foods like millionaire’s shortbread and chocolate cookies.’

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VAT rules on food means healthy items can be more expensive than cakes